Reaching the U.S. Cell Phone Generation
Comparison of Cell Phone Survey Results with an Ongoing Landline Telephone Survey
e-mail: Michael.Link{at}Nielsen.com
Noncoverage rates in U.S. landline-based telephone samples due to cell phone only households (i.e., households with no landline but accessible by cell phone) and the corresponding potential for bias in estimates from surveys that sample only from landline frames are growing issues. Building on some of the few published studies that focus on this problem, a study was conducted in three states (Georgia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania) as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the world's largest ongoing public health telephone survey, to evaluate the effectiveness of conducting the BRFSS interview with a sample drawn from dedicated cell phone telephone exchanges and mixed-use (landline and cell phone) exchanges. Approximately 600 interviews were conducted in each of two groups: cell phone only adults (n = 572) and adults with both a landline and a cell phone (n = 592). Making comparisons with data from the ongoing, landline-based BRFSS survey, we report on response rates, demographic characteristics of respondents, key survey estimates of health conditions and risk behaviors, and survey costs. The methods used in this study have wide application for other U.S. telephone surveys.
MICHAEL W. LINK is with Nielsen Media Research, 3784 Ardsley Ct, Marietta, GA 30062, USA.
MICHAEL P. BATTAGLIA is with Abt Associates, 55 Wheeler St. Cambridge, MA 02474, USA.
MARTIN R. FRANKEL is with 14 Patricia Lane, Cos Cobb, CT 06807, USA.
LARRY OSBORN is with Abt Associates, 55 Wheeler St. Cambridge, MA 02474, USA.
ALI H. MOKDAD is with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, MS:K66, GA, USA. We would like to thank the following BRFSS Coordinators for their assistance in conducting this study: Leah Bryan (Georgia), Wayne A Honey (New Mexico), and Robert F. Dewar (Pennsylvania). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Abt Associates, or Baruch College, City University of New York.
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